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R.I. city 'Bead It' to Guinness Record

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A Rhode Island education group beat the Guinness world record for making the longest strand of beads, the effort's organizer said.

The strand of red and white beads measuring 1,349.9 feet was displayed at the East Providence, R.I., annual Townie Pride Parade, The Providence Journal reported.

When the news was announced at the parade the record had been broken, Michael Jackson's song, "Beat It," was playing in the background, the newspaper reported.

The effort to break the record was sponsored by the East Providence Education Foundation, which raises money to benefit city school programs that are typically not financed in school budgets, the newspaper said.

Patti Streit, a board member of the East Providence Education Foundation and the event's organizer, said the city has had problems with police and firefighter layoffs, teacher disputes and budget issue, and the beading was "a fun, positive (moment) in the midst of all the negativity."

The group sold 10 beads for a dollar during school lunches, at high school events, and at the city's senior center. The beading began immediately after Guinness World Records granted permission in July to try to break the previous record, Streit said.

Mich. man claims cockroach crown

LANSING, Mich., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A Michigan man says he expects Guinness World Records to award him the world record for fitting the most cockroaches in his mouth.

Sean Murphy of Lansing said it likely will be weeks before he learns whether the 16 Madagascar hissing cockroaches he held in his mouth for 10 seconds will be recognized as a world record, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Murphy, who works in a pet store, apparently broke the record of 11 cockroaches Friday night by holding 12 in his mouth for the mandated 10 seconds. Then he sought to extend his unofficial record to 16.

"I've never gotten it in one try so that was a big surprise," he said of his unusual feat.

Murphy told the State Journal his days of putting cockroaches in his mouth are not yet behind him.

"Let's see if anyone can match that within the next year and maybe next Halloween I'll shoot for 20," the pet store employee said.

Beloved Pittsburgh beer focus of auction

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Devoted fans of Iron City beer say the brewery's auction offered them a chance to get a memory of the suds often associated with Pittsburgh.

The sale at the Pittsburgh brewery where Iron City beer had been brewed since the Civil War offered 320 lots of beer and sports memorabilia ranging from various beer cans to novelty beer taps, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

Pittsburgh resident George Prilla said he learned how synonymous Iron City beer is with the city during a fishing trip to North Carolina more than 30 years ago.

"We had people -- adults, not kids -- following us all over the place, onto fishing piers, begging for the Iron City beer cans," Prilla said.

Gary McClimans of Franklin, Pa., said the Iron City cans are not only great memorabilia, but also valuable.

"An original Iron City can from 1935 in mint condition would now be worth about $5,000," McClimans told the Tribune-Review.

The Iron City Brewing Co. did not specify how much was made from the auction Friday and Saturday which also included most of the brewery's equipment. The auction was held after the beer company relocated its brewery operations to Latrobe, Pa.

Institute trying to make mustaches trendy

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The American Mustache Institute, formed by three St. Louis men, says it wants to make mustaches a popular fashion statement once again.

The institute says on its Web site its goal is to create "a climate of acceptance, understanding, flavor saving and upper lip warmth for all mustached Americans alike," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

St. Louis resident Aaron Perlut helped found the institute with Dan Callahan and Brian Cross after a conversation three years ago focused on resurrecting the popularity of the facial hair. The group released a study whose results indicate men with mustaches earn 4.3 percent more than their clean-shaven counterparts.

The institute holds an annual 'Stache Bash at which it officially crowns the year's winner of the Robert Goulet Mustached American of the Year award.

Perlut told the Post-Dispatch the institute's efforts are having an effect, citing the 80,000 mentions of mustaches by media outlets nationwide in the last three months.